The first season of the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, with its rousing name “De Heroes a Titanes (From Heroes to Titans) has been set, if not in stone, then at least in firm clay, only days before the first concert is scheduled.
The first and fifth programs, both operas, have been set for some time, but the slight delay in deciding the rest of the program is doubtless due to the fact that the orchestra is still without a director. The management and patronato (governing body) have been casting about for over a year to fill the big shoes of Hector Guzman, but in January it was revealed that, despite three promising candidates who were tried out for a year, orchestra leaders have come up empty.
In a city such as Guadalajara, much enamored of opera, the two operas are sure to be crowd pleasers. And in tight economic times such as these, with eight opera companies said to have closed recently in the United States, the budgets must be restricted, said JPO General Manager Roberto Torres.
But that will not impede the opera productions, Rossini’s “El Conde Ory” (Count Ory) this weekend and Strauss’ “El Murcielago” (The Bat) in late March, Torres emphasized. “El Conde Ory” is being undertaken in a full if minimalist, production, with the focus on lighting and the soloists’ acting.This opera, as well as the season’s other programs, will also focus on youth, whether by way of the young professionals’ workshop that spawned this weekend’s opera, the surprise 9-year-old piano soloist Daniela Liebman in early March, or the young but distinguished Alondra de la Parra, who will guest conduct the fourth and sixth programs. (The fourth is likely to have some changes, noted Torres.)
Besides opera and a focus on youth, another highlight of the season is the appearance three times of full choirs, once in “El Conde Ory” and later in the second program, when both the Jalisco State Choir and the University of Colima Choir will perform various works including pieces from the operas “Aida,” “Nabucco,” and “El Trovador.”
And another focus, though one that is likely to be outside the glare of the footlights, will surely be the continuing and now more urgent search for a director. Many Americans who live in the area will doubtless be disappointed if last year’s U.S.-based candidate Leslie Dunner, the orchestra musicians’ favorite, is not chosen, as seems likely to be the case.
Instead, the rumor is that Enrique Batiz, who has a reputation as a stern maestro and who is guest conducting Tchaikovsky, Rodrigo and Brahms in late April, is now being seriously considered by the patronato, the group that makes the final decision.
Meanwhile, spirits are high among the group of young professionals, who are mostly from Mexico City and supported by the organization Pro Opera, as they prepare for this weekend’s production of “El Conde Ory.” It will be the first time this comedic and highly musical opera has been performed in Mexico and the guest conductor, 21-year-old Ivan Lopez Reynoso, seemed delighted at the opportunity, noting how few directors specialized in opera there are in Mexico.
“These are young people, but they are top quality,” Roberto Torres said of the large cast who are happily anticipating this funny opera.